The Oracle staff sent a reporter to investigate one of Gunn’s largest sports teams: track and field. Various events include jumping, sprinting, hurdles, throwing and long distance. By Alicia Zhao, reporter.

Jumping

The thought of jumping may sound easy, but according to junior jumper Nathan Ma, jumping is just as difficult as, if not more than, other sports.

Jumpers do hard sprints on Mondays and on Tuesdays, when they work on the technical aspects of jumping, such as taking off with good form, landing and getting their marks . Wednesdays are for running through the jumps to prepare for the meets that are usually on Thursdays. Jumpers work on recoveries, where they run laps around the track, on Fridays. “Workouts range depending on which jump I work on,” Ma said. “For the most part, I usually do lots of bounding which helps for the triple and long jump. Occasionally, I will sprint so that I get a faster run on the runway before jumping. I also like to spend some time stretching because flexibility really helps for jumping.”

There are three different events for jumping: the long, triple and high jump. The long and triple jump are fairly similar in technique; an athlete jumps once and lands on one foot for the long jump, while in the triple jump, he or she jumps three times and lands on the same leg for the first two jump and the opposite leg for the last. In comparison, an athlete would take off of one foot and land on any part of his or her body for the high jump. “ I like that there is more technique involved [in jumping] than just doing a sprint,” jumping coach Lisa Wu said. “[That way] there is more room for improvement for new jumpers.”

With about 25 jumpers, the jumping section has simple goals for the future. Though Wu just hopes for everyone to improve, some individual jumpers wish to go beyond that. “My goals for the season are to gain personal records in all three [jumping] events as well as compete in CCS (Central Coast Section),” Ma said.

Sprinting

Some people assume that sprinters only need to be fast, but according to junior sprinter Charles Chisom, sprinting is more about being smart. “The object is to decelerate the least before you reach the finish line,” Chisom said. “Plenty of really fast runners end up not doing as well as they’d hoped simply because it is difficult to maintain top speed for very long.”

Chisom’s strategy is to pretend that at the start of a race, he is a wildcat on a leash. “As soon as the gun goes off, that leash flies off and I’m running as fast as I can until I reach the jungle,” he said.

Sprinting coach Jordan Fong said that sprinters need an all-in-one package: quick mechanics, good reaction time, speed and the determination to not stop until they cross the finish line. “Sprinting relates with schoolwork because school is like a race and you can choose to finish the race full speed or slower,” Fong said. “You need to focus on the goals ahead and push through even when you’re tired.”

There are about 40 sprinters this year and Fong is grateful for that fact. “There are a lot of numbers so we can choose who to pick for meets,” he said. For the season, Fong hopes to get a solid 4x1 team (four runners, 100 meters each), have a good time, and help each team member achieve a personal record (PR).

Fong plans to accomplish these goals through the workouts, which focus on technique and fundamentals and by making the players understand why they do the workouts, as well as checking up on each player’s progress. Chisom said that they have focused more on running longer sprints this season, which helps increase their speed during a normal sprint. “It teaches all of us sprinters to really run all the way through the finish line,” he said.

Hurdling

Few people enjoy failing, which is why hurdling may be a challenge to those who cannot rise after a single failure. “Not everyone can be a hurdler; it takes a lot of commitment, and a lot of failing or hitting the hurdle,” junior hurdler Rimona Cartun said. “Also, you have to have the toughness to get right back up and continue on [after hitting a hurdle].” Junior hurdler Jeffrey Wang’s thoughts were similar to Cartun’s. “You not only need physical endurance, but also motivation,” he said.

There are four different types of hurdling events: two for boys and two for girls. The boys’ high hurdles are 39 inches high and 110 meters long, while the girls’ are 33 inches high and cover 100 meters. The running distance of the low hurdles is 300 meters for both genders, but the boys’ are 36 inches tall while the girls’ are 30 inches.

According to Cartun, getting over a hurdle for the first time is one of the most difficult parts of the sport — everything else just requires practice. “[Do not] overlook the last hurdle, or actually never overlook any hurdle,” she said. “Deal with the one right in front of you.”

For practice, the hurdlers warm up with the whole track and field team, then start trail leg drills and run through hurdles at various heights. “Some days we do laps around the track where we sprint the straightaways and jog the curves,” Cartun said. “Other days we go run hills and things like that.”

Distance running

Sweating, pain and the desire to stop. These are images and thoughts that may surface when some students run the mile. Gunn’s long and mid-distance runners, however, may think of the mile as nothing more than a warm-up.

Distance runners run anywhere from three to 10 miles each practice, usually at Stanford or Los Altos Hills. “[Distance running requires] mental endurance because you can do anything you want to,” sophomore distance runner Paul Summers said. “It’s just a matter of the pain you are willing to put yourself through.”

Distance runners enjoy running longer distances for various reasons. “I like that the workouts take a while, so you get to hang out with your friends as you exercise,” Summers said. “I run for fun basically.”

Nevertheless, there are still a few less enjoyable aspects of running. “[The most painful part of running] would be in the middle of a race or a hard workout and you’re by yourself and you’re thinking ‘What the heck am I doing here? This hurts so much!’” junior distance runner Allie Mayer said. “But then afterwards, it’s like the runner’s high and it makes it all worth it.”

Assistant distance coach Go Sasaki said that distance runners need a great amount of dedication and willingness to work hard. “[Distance running] is a really pure sport,” he said. “Everyone can get a chance to compete and it’s really easy to see improvement because you can see people get faster [from their marks].”

Both Sasaki and Mayer agree on the strength of the distance team. “We are really good,” Mayer said. “Not to be modest or anything.”

Throwing

Gunn has two throwing events: the discus throw and shotput. “Shot put is just throwing a heavy ball with a pushing motion whereas discus is flinging an essentially heavy Frisbee,” senior thrower Avery Green said. “ A shot putter is like a cannon, whereas a discuss thrower spins like a top.” Green prefers the discuss because it involves more technique and less body mass.

According to senior thrower Kelsey Feeley, throwing is one of the few track and field events that does not require “natural abilities,” which is what makes it unique and different. “Anyone can do it,” she said,” [Throwing] is not very stressful for me, so I don’t have to mentally prepare.”

In order to throw well, according to Green, one must have quickness and strength.

“An important thing to remember is that power comes from the whole body, not just the arms, but the legs, torso, shoulders [and so on],” he said. “You need to use your whole body to put everything into a throw.”

A typical practice involves running a quarter or half mile warm up; doing plyometrics, which are exercises that enhance speed and strength; perfecting technique; throwing cones or spinning broomsticks across the shoulders, throwing discs and shots and then lifting weights. “Throwing is a fairly stress free sport that anyone can do with practice,” Green said. “What you put into it is what you’ll get out.”

—Additional reporting by Sophie Cheng